The National Union of Romanian Hauliers (UNTRR) welcomes the political agreement reached regarding the enlargement of the Schengen Area with Romania and Bulgaria's air and sea borders starting from March 2024, but calls on Romanian and European authorities to also establish a clear date for the enforcement of the Schengen visa-free rules for land borders as well, starting in 2024."Schengen accession is an important and much-awaited step by Romanian passengers and transport operators, which should have been achieved as early as in 2011, when the European institutions found that Romania meets all the technical requirements for admission. Given that all passenger data are at the disposal of air transport operators, the enlargement of the Schengen Area with Romania's air borders could have been accomplished a long time ago. There is obviously no justification of a technical nature for the delay, the reasons are political, the members of the EU club have chosen to punish Romania and Bulgaria and reduce their competitiveness all this time, curbing their development potential. Yet now, Romania's joining the Schengen with the land borders is an emergency for road freight carriers whose efficiency is currently severely penalized through the extremely long waiting times (about 30 - 36 hours daily between Romania and Bulgaria) and for coach operators, in order to avoid the significant administrative burden arising from the new obligations of verifying passenger data in the European EES and ETIAS travel registration and authorization systems starting from next year," UNTRR secretary general Radu Dinescu said, as cited in a release of the organization.According to a report conducted by UNTRR this year on the impact on road freight of Romania being kept out of Schengen, the industry incurred losses of 2.41 billion euros."We request the urgent setting of a definite date for Romania's Schengen entry with land borders too, and if there are certain special requirements, they should be clearly mentioned in order to have a precise reference regarding the accession calendar and the goals to be achieved. The criteria the other members of the EU club want Romania and Bulgaria to fulfill must not exceed the general framework and the technical requirements for admission," said Dinescu.UNTRR representatives point out that the road transport industry, which with 7.66 billion euros in 2022 is Romania's largest exporter of services, is the economic branch most affected by Romania being kept out of Schengen.
The gross income of employees who worked full-time under a labour contract and were paid for the entire month of October 2024 was RON 8,374, more than a quarter above the basic gross salary of RON 6,553, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) published on Friday.Around 40% of these employees earned […]
Over 31,600 building permits for residential properties were issued in the first ten months of this year, up 4.1% compared with the same period last year, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) published on Friday.Increases were recorded in all development regions: West (+297 permits), Centre (+235), North-West (+192), North-East (+134), South-East […]
VAT revenues increased in the third quarter of this year by 6.74 billion lei compared to the same period last year, totaling 35.48 billion RON, out of a total of 94.75 billion RON for the first nine months of 2025, according to data transmitted on Monday by the Ministry of Finance.Of the amount of 6.74 […]
Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) listed on Friday a new bond issue on the Regulated Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), worth 1.12 billion RON, the BVB said in a release.This is the 11th bond issue listed by BCR on the Stock Exchange to date, bringing the total value of BCR's listed bonds close to […]
Romania's insurance sector is strengthening its performance against the backdrop of a dynamic market undergoing significant structural transformation, according to a new study on developments in the insurance markets of Central and Eastern Europe, conducted by a consultancy firm in partnership with a research provider."Romania stands out as one of the most dynamic insurance […]
The minimum turnover tax is a barrier to investment, and in a period when the private sector is undergoing restructuring and layoffs, it adds additional pressure on companies, according to a letter signed by 14 investor organizations that once again request the elimination of the minimum tax."In view of the discussions on the construction […]
